What can i do about my debt?

im 21 and in a little bit of debt i have just had a debt agency contact me about the debt i have with my bank and they want me to pay off half of it which is like nearly Â£2000 then pay the rest of in monthly instalment's they don't seem to accept i haven't really got an income. im a full time carer to my mum and only get Â£50 a week that goes on other bills etc as well i have done an expenditure form and can only afford Â£10 a month pushing it but they wont accept that and i really don't no what to do coz its making me stressed and depressed i cant get a job coz my mum needs full time care and is very depending on me. i cant go on anything like an IVA coz im not earning enough but im at the last straw. i have got a rubbish credit rating so cant get a loan or anything to pay this debt off and my family aren't in the position to help me out what can i do?

For gods sake do NOT listen to half these people!

Do NOT get a consolidation loan that's worse and gets you into deeper debt, if you can't pay what you owe now you won't be able to repay a loan!

Be careful with Companies who offer to pay the creditors on your behalf but take a small fee.
THERE ARE FREE charities who will do this for you without asking for a penny!

you do NOT and should NOT go bankrupt unless ALL OTHER avenues have been explored. It also costs about Â£350 to do this. You are not allowed to have a current account and only allowed a basic account without a cheque books or switch card or credit card. ALL your other credit avenues WILL be stopped for 12 months until your discharged. You also can only go bankrupt IF you owe OVER a certain amount.

I am a full time carer and we are both in debt. This does not excuse me at all however people do find themselves in a situation. Some people DO stop spending but find the creditors ADD interest or charges after charges even when you let them know well in advance you cannot pay and want to come to an arragement. Sometimes it's a a real need to use and carry on with a credit card when benefits or other help/monies are not through yet. do NOT let people judge your situation as they know nothing! You and only you know why your in debt and well done for asking for help!
Do NOT let anyone bully you, harass you, guilt trip you into paying something you cannot.

It takes about 3 -6 months for a companies debt collector to pass it onto an external debt collector and then it takes another 3-6 months for a CCJ to be issued In which case you will be sent papers. A country court will NEVER make you pay what you can't afford especially when on benefit. I myself have one and it;s Â£1 a month.

Please please contact either the CAB or the consumer credit counselling service who will tell you ALL the CORRECT facts!!
(http://www.cccs.co.uk) .
0800 138 1111 FREE Phone.

I have been there and have decided to go bankrupt but ONLY because we cannot go any further and have indeed been paying ALL creditors what we CAN afford.

Also to the people who say state carers are free, not always and they cannot always do what the people at home need hence why I looked after my terminal ill mother, then my grandmother, then my grandfather and now by partner of 9 years( hubby to be)
They are very limited and will not for instance make a home cooked meal only put a frozen one in a microwave. They will not empty bins etc for health and safety unless someone is so far down the scale that they would finally get someone who would do all the things needed.
There are a HUGE amount of people who need in home carers and this is not and cannot always be provided. There is in fact a scale in which the social use in order to prioritize cases. NOT everyone gets good enough care by state privided carers. i should now, the only people who were kind hard working and decent workers were those provided by a public funded charity called Macmillan!

Please please do no give up hope, most people would not want to be paid about Â£1 an hour which in fact carers allowance works out to be IF you do a standard 35 hour working wee, HOWEVER most CARERS work 7 days a week including nights, have no breaks, no sicks days, no pension, no holidays and NO pay rises.

It's tough and carers in this country ought to be given saint hoods for the amount of money we save this country!
I for one would never "shove" my mother into a state home.

If you need ANY help what so ever, Please do email me any time and I will be there. Us carers need to stick together :0)
The CCCS have been my saviour, and they will help you with your rights and what these debt collectors can and cant do.
Well done for everything so far!
Much Love.
Kendra xx

One last thing DO NOT rent out a room to a lodger without FIRST finding out if this affects your benefits. i for one know that this in fact DOES depending on what benefits are paid.
You can also work up to 16 hours a week and earn about Â£90 BUT they will take most of this from your carers allowance especially if it's over minimum wage.
In my case i am only Â£10 a week better off and in the process would not be able to do this without seriously affecting my health. I am happy to do it IF and only IF I can find a job that can be flexible and gives me enough time for everything. i do NOT expect an employer to give me those rights though and I am very grateful for the money we do get having paid into the system for over 10 years.
Be careful at accepting well meaning advice. It does't always stand up to the hard facts of life.
Please be careful and doing anything at all without getting advice.

You can also always ring the carers allowance info line or any job centre to get advice.

One last thing sorry for long post LOL
If you do things to make money like washing cars or cleaning other people's houses, this is classed as income if it's about a certain amount. and IF the benefits agency for whatever reason finds out you can be done for not telling them about extra income. It can be that anyone who knows you can also shop you for making money on the side. believe me I have seen it happen. Don't mean to frighten you, but I would hate you to get into more of a mess.

I am sure everyone means well, but if things cannot be backed up by actual facts then it's no use as it can cause more trouble than it's worth. been there done that and shouldn;t have listened to some.

Go and visit your nearest citizens advice bureau.
They can help you manage your debts.
They can check if you are claiming all the benefits you and your mum are entitled to.
Well done to you for taking care of mum and sorting out your debts before they escalate any further.
Good Luck

Go with lolcats advice and give the citizens advice bureau a phone now, it cant do any harm.
Here is the website to find your local one.

Citizens Advice will sort that out for you.

Collectors use intimidation tactics all the time. You don't have to please them. Give them an ultimatum. Say, "This is what I can do. Take it or leave it. If you agree to the arrangement I can manage, send me something in writing that shows what the terms are and that you agree to them. If you aren't going to do that, then stop calling me or I will consider it harassment and take action."

You can sue for harassment if they keep calling after you tell them to stop. If you don't want to, you can at least report them to whatever the credit agency is in your country.

Visit the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

easy.......

1. stop stressing, grow some balls and call em up and tell em what you can afford.

2. They will say something like no good etc etc.

3. if your credit rating is crap then dont worry, you will prob get a ccj then as long as your paying something back - they cannot do jack.

DONT OPEN THE DOOR TO ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW.

They have to BY LAW accept any menial amount from you. FULL STOP

You don't say what a 'little bit of debt' amounts to exactly. But I can tell you that no one is going to care that you are the 'full time carer' for your mum. They want their money and that is the bottom line. It makes sense, doesn't it? If having a noble calling, albeit a low-paying one, in life excused you from debt, we'd all be picking up litter on the highway or working for low-pay in an animal shelter. You have to look at the entire picture and see where the excuses are - you say that your family isn't in the position to help you. That's because even if they all got together and chipped in to pay your debt, you probably wouldn't pay them back and if you did, it would take years.
Your bad credit is going to dog you all your life unless you get busy fixing it. It will take a long time but you have to dig yourself out of that bad credit hole by getting a real job, even if it is part-time.
If you only get 50 pounds a week, why is that? 10 pounds a week is very little to a credit card company when you owe nearly 4000 pounds.
Just a starting suggestion: clean up your house or apartment and make one room and the kitchen into something you can rent to a boarder. Keep the house scrupulously clean. Tell the boarder that you will give him or her a discount in the rent if he or she will sit with your mother while you work at your part-time job. Have your pay from your part-time job go directly to the debt agency. Be a good landlord and keep the house clean and treasure a good boarder.
This would be a good opportunity for a student to have a room and access to a kitchen.
If you want a lot - the freedom to not pay your debt, the continued ability to care for your mum, the house or apartment you live in and any other expenses, you have to accept that you can't have all of that without making some changes. Money that is earned will pay off your debt.
You should also investigate any social services that can help you - I know it is difficult to be a full-time carer for your mum and I admire you for it. (I cared for my mum before she died.)
The real world does intrude and debt is debt. There is no morality clause to debt that says you don't have to pay a debt because you are busy doing something worthwhile. 4000 pounds is a lot of debt and you are only 21.

Lots of good advice so far.

Try to get money by washing windows/cars in the neigbourhood etc. Lots of people will pay Â£10 to get their car washed. All you need is a bucket, soap and a sponge. If you can wash 5 cars a day for 3 weeks, that's your Â£2000 earned.

Call the agency that's asking for a pay off and explain your situation again. Tell the it's impossible to proceed as they are asking and ask them what are your options (maybe you can get it down to a monthly payment).

Then try to look for the local social service and get ask for help, someone to look after your mother for a few weeks, while you go hunt for a job. Keep in mind the options they gave you (they will most probably give you some if they think you really want to pay it) so you can select a job that at least will get you closer to solving the problem instead of becoming one. Best if it pays enough for you to pay your bills, your mother's bills and a person to take care of her.

I know you didn't ask but next step would be stopping making more debts. It's probably difficult as you have to look after someone else, but the less you can spend, the better till you solve this situation.

Good luck for you both!

Practically any type of loan can be wrapped into the debt consolidation process. Common types include finance charges, late fees and overdraft charges, credit cards, personal loans, utility bills, medical bills, car loans, store cards, gas cards and back taxes. A debt consolidation loan allows you to condense your monthly payments into a single, simple bill, while lowering your interest rates and helping you pay down your debts more quickly and easily. It is also an essential tool in avoiding the much more serious step of declaring bankruptcy.

http://best-loans.awardspace.com/Loan-Consolidation.htm

Unlike bankruptcy, in which debts are cancelled and your credit rating collapses completely, debt consolidation loans are essentially a type of refinancing, where several old loans are replaced with a new one that has more favorable terms. Your loan consultant will negotiate with creditors on your behalf, so youâ€™ll no longer have to deal with harassing phone calls and daily mail.

why not get a propper carer for your mum? its free, that way you will have time to get a job. you cant spend your whole life looking after someone

Assuming you have no assets and all house and possessions are mums , then go bankrupt , you got nothing to lose The house and contents aren't not yours so they can't touch them.... Your credit is already bad so won't make a lot of difference, They can then sing for their money >> Ok you will be stuck for a while but in time things will improve,,

It is not your duty too look after your mother. Hand her over to the state, and get some work. And don't tell me there ain't, because both my kids stay there and have never been without. Then pay your debts. You can spend it, you can pay it back. And 4000 Pound is not a little debt! Many years of abundant spending.
Peace.

Try a company called Advanced Debt Solutions (ADS). They were brilliant with me. I had about Â£2,000 in debt due to multiple contracts and bank charges for going overdrawn and was also getting hassled from debt collectors.

They contact your companies and arrange to freeze/lower your charges and interest you may have building.

They work out with you what an affordable monthly payment is each month and they will take Â£25 for their admin fee which is quite small and is included in the monthly payment.

Hope this helps!

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